Renting a room in your home as tourist accommodation: some regulations you will need to know

The idea of renting a room in your home as tourist accommodation may seem an attractive proposition, but if you are a tenant, you must first of all obtain permission. As regards taxation, the revenues derived from this property could be tax-exempt, but don’t just forget to pay your tourist tax.

Some good reasons to rent a room in your home as tourist accommodation

This is a growing practice as homeowners are starting to see this as a good way to supplement their income. However, it’s essential to be able to offer a comfortable, well-appointed room, and it’s also preferable to have a separate bathroom or shower room. Above all, this arrangement requires a real commitment to hospitality and imposes a number of important constraints which owners don’t always fully appreciate (being available for guest reception, housekeeping, providing clean linen, managing bookings, handing over your keys to strangers you hardly know, etc.).
This formula can be particularly appealing to prospective tenants who are primarily looking to share some time with residents of the area they visit, though knowing that does not necessarily make the proposition more interesting from a financial perspective.

Seeking a landlord’s authorisation to sub-let a room in rented accommodation

If your main lease or rental agreement is governed by the regulations published on 6 July 1989 (empty or furnished rental of a tenant’s main residence) subletting is prohibited without obtaining the landlord’s written consent. In addition, the proposed cost of the rent cannot exceed that of the main rent. Moreover, since the ALUR law, the tenant must also provide his sub-tenant with a copy of the landlord’s written permission and a photocopy of the lease or rental agreement.
Today, some platforms widely advertise this sublet option as a way to make ‘easy money’, without bothering to properly inform tenants about important details. For example, a tenant who intends to sublet a room in his house without obtaining the express consent of the landlord should be aware that he risks the termination of his own lease or rental agreement.

The obligation to notify your town hall

Though there is no requirement to request local authority permission before renting out a room as tourist accommodation, nevertheless, Article L324-4 of the Tourism Code requires that a declaration must be made. The form to be used for this purpose is known as: cerfa n°13566*02. The aim of this specific provision is to identify the tourist facilities available in any local area.

The tax aspects of renting a room in your home as tourist accommodation

Income from renting a furnished room must obviously be declared and is taxed as industrial and commercial profits (BIC). However, this income is exempt from tax if it does not exceed € 760 per year.
Furthermore, the owner who rents all or part of his personal residence to tourists is also affected by tourist tax – indeed it is he who must collect it. This takes the form of a flat rate independent of the number of people actually accommodated. The tax is calculated as a flat category rate multiplied by the accommodation capacity and the number of days (or nights) the facility is open for business. A statutory deduction is then applied to the result of this calculation.
In Paris, this arrangement has applied to B & B’s, furnished apartments and the like since 1 March 2015. The amount of tax collected is equal to the category rate multiplied by the number of adults accommodated, and by the length of stay.